Safety aerosol cover cap



Aug. 19, 1969 J. MARKOWITZ SAFETY AEROSOL covsn on Filed Nov. 6, 1967 v IINVEN'TOR.

ISAAL Mag/vow:

BY $5M W k United States Patent 3,462,045 SAFETY AEROSOL COVER CAP Isral J. Markowitz, 579 E. 42nd St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11203 Filed Nov. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 680,937 Int. Cl. B65d 47/06; B67d /32 US. Cl. 222-182 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Ser. No. 576,365, filed Aug. 31, 1966 and entitled Safety Bottle Closure, now US. 3,403,803.

This invention relates generally to aerosol devices of the hand-held type which are used for packaging and dispensing a multiplicity of products. Although many of such products are of the edible type, there is an ever increasing use of such aerosol packaging means for distributing other products which if dispensed, whether intentionally or not, could cause harm to uninformed users such as children. These products include but are not limited to paints and lacquers, oil, hair spray, insecticides and other various pesticides, bathroom cleaners and deoderizers, etc. All of these aerosol devices packagiing such typical material caution the user to keep out of reach of children and not to make contact with the body or eyes, but none provides a safety closure or cover cap for such device.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of this invention to provide a novel safety aerosol cover cap, which may be easily removed or disengaged by responsible adults of average intelligence, but which cannot be removed by children.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel safety aerosol cover cap which is durable in construction, simple in design, economical to manufacture, and easy to assemble so as to be generally acceptable by the industry and general public.

The present specification discloses, in accordance with the illustrated embodiments of the invention, a unique and novel safety aerosol cover cap comprising a first cap element having means for rotatively securing same to the reduced neck portion of the valve assembly, and a second cap element threadably engaged to the first cap element so that rotation of either or both of the cover cap elements will not disengage the caps or open the aerosol container and thus reveal the valve depress button.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of my invention when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, taken from the front and above, of an aerosol container employing my safety cover cap;

FIGURE 2 is an axial sectional view, line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE .3 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the upper cap element removed from the lower cap element; and

FIGURE 4 is an axial sectional view of an aerosol device illustrating yet another modified form of safety cover cap construction.

taken along the 3,462,045 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 ice Referring first to FIGURES 1-3, the novel aerosol cover cap device of the invention as illustrated therein comprises a pressurized container 10 of a size generally adapted to be held in the hand. The container 10 is of the conventional type being made from sheet metal and having cylindrical side walls 12 and an upper conical neck portion 14 terminated by a pair of external annular lips or beads 16 and 18. A valve-actuating button 20 extending upwardly from the center of the neck portion 14 is suitably connected to a valve assembly and associated dip tube (not shown) residing within the container 10.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided for use in conjunction with the pressurized container 10 a novel and improved cap construction generally designated by the numeral 22, which has a number of desirable advantages and features. The cap construction 22 is shown as comprising a lower cap element 24 suitably secured in a fixed but yet rotational, loosely fitting manner to the bead 16. If desired, the lower cap element 24 may also be secured in a rotational, loosely fitting manner to the bead 18, as best shown in FIGURE 3. A threaded section 26 and an outer flange portion 28 loosely fitting about the annular bead 18 form the remaining part of the lower cap element 24.

Cooperable thread means 30 for engaging with the threaded section 26 are provided on an upper cap element 32 which basically forms the cover unit of such cap construction. Upon the threading of the upper cap element 32 to the lower cap element 24, the cap structure 22 appears on the whole as being of a one-piece unit construction. Radially inwardly extending flange 34 permits the entire cap assembly of elements 24 and 32 to easily rotate about the bead 16 in a loosely fitting manner By such construction, one uninformed child would not recognize that for such cap structure to be removed, one must first hold the container 10 and the lower element 24 in a fixed position with one hand and rotate the upper element 32 with another band so as to unthread the threaded connection 26, 30. Unless this action is taken, the entire cover-cap assembly will readily rotate about the head 16 as an integral unit.

As best shown in FIGURE 4, the cap structure 35 does not necessarily have to be disposed about both annular beads 16 and 18. In this embodiment, a lower cap element 36 is provided with a single readily-inwardly extending flange 38 rotatively secured about the uppermost annular bead 16 of the aerosol container 12 in a loosely fitting manner, and an upwardly extending threaded section 40' provides the cooperating threaded means for securing threads 42 of an upper cap element 44 to the lower cap element 36. Although functionally, this embodiment is very similar to the structure of FIGURES 1-3, it is more revealing in the sense that a child might be able to figure out how to remove the upper cap element 44, whereas, with the design of FIGURES 1-3, one is not as readily provided with a visual picture as to how the cover-cap functions because the conical neck portion 14 is concealed beneath the lower cap element 24.

The cap elements may be formed of any type of metal or may even be formed of plastic. If the cap elements are made of metal, there must be sufficient resiliency in the metal for the flange 34 to be snapped about the head 16 and retained thereon in a loosely fitting manner; otherwise, such flange must be composed of two semi-circular portions suitably soldered or welded together as a unit upon assembly to the aerosol container 10.

Shoulders 46 and 48, respectively of upper cap elements 44 and 32, are not limit stops for the threaded connection and they need not form a part of the upper cap elements. As will be noted, the upper cap elements must be deep enough to accommodate the height of the upwardly extending valve actuating button 20.

It should also be understood that the forms of the device shown and described herein are to be taken as preferred examples of the invention and that various modifications and changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be restored to without departure from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A safety cover cap for an aerosol container having a conical neck portion terminating in a small upper annular bead and a larger lower annular bead and an upwardly extending valve actuating button communicating with the inside of said aerosol container, comprising a lower cap element rotatively secured in a loosely fitting manner about one of said beads, an upper cap element having threaded means, and cooperating threaded means on said lower cap element whereby both of said cap elements when threaded together are caused to freely rotate as an integral unit about said annular bead, said cooperating threaded means on said lower cap element being disposed axially between said upper annular bead and said lower annular bead, and said upper and lower cap, ele- 4 ments when assembled appear on the whole as a unitary one-piece cover cap construction.

2. The safety cover cap of claim 1, wherein said lower cap element is provided with an inwardly directed annular flange adapted to be rotatatively held beneath said upper annular bead in a loosely fitting manner.

3. The safety cover cap of claim 2 wherein said lower cap element is provided with another inwardly directed annular flange adapted to be rotatively held beneath said lower annular bead in a loosely fitting manner, and the body of said lower cap element concealing the annular flange disposed about said upper annular bead.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,767,888 10/1956 Softer 222182 3,227,321 1/1966 Sagarin 222182 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner H. S. LANE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 222l53 Disclaimer 3,462,045.Isml J. Markowz'tz, Brooklyn, N.Y. SAFETY AEROSOL COVER CAP. Patent dated Aug. 19, 1969. Disclaimer filed Jan. 17, 1974, by the assignee, Stem Development C'orpomtion. Hereby disclaims the portion of the term of the patent subsequent to Oct. 1,1985.

[Ofiicial Gazette April 16, 1.974.] 

